3. To each lb. of flour add, separately, 11⁄4 dr. of bicarbonate of soda, and 1 dr. of tartaric acid (both perfectly dry, and in very fine powder); rub them well together with the hands until thoroughly incorporated; then form the whole into a dough with water, as quickly as possible, and at once bake in a quick oven. About 8 or 9 oz. of water are required for every lb. of flour. Answers well when expertly managed.
4. Flour, 1 lb.; bicarbonate of soda, 1 dr.; mix; make a dough with water, q. s., to which 1 dr. of hydrochloric acid (commercial) has been added, and further proceed as before.
5. Whiting’s Patent bread:—This closely resembles the last. The proportions are—Flour, 7 lbs.; carbonate of soda and hydrochloric acid, of each 1 oz.; water, 23⁄4 pints. This method was suggested by Dr Henry in 1797, and was patented by Dr Whiting in 1836. If the proportions be not observed, or the mixture be not perfect, the quality of the bread suffers. The action of the acid on the soda forms common salt in the loaf.
6. Ammoni′acal bread:—Carbonate of ammonia, 3⁄4 to 1 oz.; cold water, q. s.; dissolve, add of flour, 7 lbs.; and make a dough, which must be formed into loaves and baked immediately, as before.—Obs. To ensure success the carbonate should be recent, and free from bicarbonate, the presence of which is known by its being white and powdery, and of inferior pungency. If any of the last salt be present, the bread will have a yellowish colour, and a slightly alkaline or urinous flavour. The process answers best for small loaves, cakes, and fancy bread. By employing pure carbonate of ammonia instead of the commercial sesquicarbonate, the process succeeds admirably, and the resulting bread is most wholesome. A late writer recommends the use of bicarbonate of ammonia, but evidently does so in ignorance, as in practice it is inapplicable, as the author verified by numerous carefully conducted experiments.
7. It has been at various times proposed to knead the dough with water highly charged with carbonic acid, on which Dr Ure observes that “the resulting bread will be somewhat spongy.” He states that he endeavoured to make bread in this way, but never could succeed in producing a light spongy loaf. The quantity of gas in the water is much too trifling for the purpose, and the greater part of it escapes in the process of making the dough, even though all the materials be well cooled, and the operation conducted in a cold place. The only way of obviating the difficulty is to conduct the kneading in a trough under considerable atmospheric pressure, and at a very low temperature, by means of machinery, as is done by Dr Dauglish, whose method is now protected by letters patent. This method is not, however, adapted either to domestic use or the small scale.[231]
[231] For a full description of Dauglish’s process, see Watts’ ‘Dic. of Chemistry.’
Obs. Unfermented bread has been strongly recommended as being more wholesome, and generally better adapted to bilious and dyspeptic patients, than fermented bread. It must, however, be confessed, that the unfermented bread commonly met with has a slight ‘raw-grain’ taste, which is very disagreeable to some persons. But this taste is not necessarily present, being chiefly dependent on bad manipulation, the use of inferior flour, and insufficient baking. The process of fermentation doubtless modifies the condition of the starch and gluten of the dough, and renders them easier of digestion. This species of bread is sadly adulterated with a variety of indescribable messes. See Biscuits, Bread (antè), Flour, Gingerbread, &c.
Bread Fruit (Artocarpus incisa, nat. order Graminaceæ). The tree yielding the bread-fruit is a native of Central America, the South Sea Islands, and the Islands of the Indian Archipelago. It is principally composed of starch, sugar, and water, every 100 parts containing 80 of water. The fruit is gathered when the starch is in a mealy condition; it is then peeled, wrapped in leaves, and baked by placing it between hot stones. It then has the taste of sweetbread.
The natives of the countries where this fruit is found practise a method for preserving it, which consists in allowing the nitrogenous parts of the fruit to putrefy in water-tight pits. They thus obtain a mass resembling soft cheese in consistence, and this, when required to be eaten, is baked in the same manner as the fresh fruit.
BREAK′FAST (brĕk′-). Syn. Jentaculum L.; Déjeûner, Déjeûné, Fr.; Frühstück, Ger. The first meal of the day; or the food served at it.